The Lady of the Pigeons
Tina Piña Trachtenberg, self-named Mother Pigeon, stands for a portrait on top of her apartment's rooftop in Brooklyn. The pigeons surrounding her are her flock and cares for them daily feeding and offering them water. She has fostered a special relationship with them, some are generational pigeons, whose parents she cared for years ago. Her dress which she made herself, flies up due to the gust of wind from the hundreds of pigeons taking flight around her.
This project focuses on capturing the special bond Tina Piña Trachtenburg – self named Mother Pigeon – shares with the many pigeons of New York City. Since the 1980's Mother Pigeon has dedicated her life to caring and advocating for these birds who are seen as vermin. From the way she dresses, to her artwork it is all driven by her passion for pigeons, whom she views as equals.
She cares for a flock of nearly 200 on the rooftop of her apartment in Brooklyn feeding them and tending to their needs. Which is a mere drop in the bucket compared to the believed one million pigeons that call NYC home.
This documentary project's importance lies in creating an understanding of human to animal relationships and the need to understand how to coexist together. Whether it is in a sprawling urban area like NYC or in the suburbs, if we do not begin to foster an understanding of symbiosis, we may not change the course of our planet.
I believe that it is in sharing unique tangible stories that will help us foster hope, sympathy, conversation, and action. Often, we are bombarded with how we are different, how much pain there is, that we forget to look to those who have already established this way of living—for guidance.
Project timeline: August 2020-March 2022
Mother Pigeon takes a nap after a day of working on some artwork. Her art is heavily inspired by pigeons which are also featured in her clothing, head dresses, drawings, paintings and on walls in her apartment.
Pigeons gather outside Mother Pigeon's kitchen window. Although Mother Pigeon feeds the pigeons on the rooftop sometimes, she does on the windowsills. She has also trained the pigeons to follow her to a nearby park in the winter where she feeds them to protect them from hawks. She also trained them due to having restrictions placed by her landlord during COVID. The pigeons recognize her and follow her. Tina can often be heard saying, "We are going to the park! Come Eat!"
“I definitely get a lot of my inspiration from them in my fashion...I’m always dressing up for the pigeons because they are the first ones that see me in the morning.”
Papalo sitting on top of a shelf in Mother Pigeon's bedroom the day before her release to the rooftop flock. Papalo suffered from an injured foot and Mother Pigeon rehabbed her in her apartment for about 2 months. She grew incredibly close to Papalo and releasing her to the flock was an emotional moment. She turns to Eastern philosophy for inspiration to help her continue releasing birds like Papalo back to the wild, "I guess a huge part of life is learning how to let go. And I love the Indian and Eastern philosophies of just nothing is yours, nothing is forever. We are always changing. …You have to let go, and so, that is a very hard lesson. But I do it, and it’s worth it to do it.”
Mother Pigeon approaches a carrier where Papalo is placed to be released to the rooftop flock.
A pigeon from Mother Pigeon's rooftop flock is tended to by Mother Pigeon as she tries to remove an embedded string from their toe. Among lead poisoning pigeons also suffer from losing their toes to embedded strings, hair, laces etc. When the pigeon is left alone without removing it the loss of the toe is gradual and extremely painful.
“It’s like having these little butterflies [referring to pigeons], I mean people love butterflies. But we got these gorgeous, iridescent, beautiful little creatures flying around us all the time, and it’s like there they are for you to love and honor.”
Mother Pigeon places seed on the windowsill of her bedroom window on a snowy morning, this way she ensures the seed is not lost in the snow.
Squishy Face among some of Mother Pigeon’s handmade felt pigeons that she sells at Union Square Park.
Detail of a feather wedged in a pipe leading up to Mother Pigeon's apartment's rooftop.
Mother Pigeon lays out in the sun, the pigeons slowly approach her after they have eaten the seed, she laid out for them moments earlier.
Mother Pigeon watching the flock at sunset to protect them from the hawk in the area. It is Mother Pigeon's hope that people can see the beauty of pigeons and treat them with kindness. “It’s like having these little butterflies [referring to pigeons], I mean people love butterflies. But we got these gorgeous, iridescent, beautiful little creatures flying around us all the time, and it’s like there they are for you to love and honor.”